Form clamp



June 19 1928. 7

1,673,986 (5. F. NEWTON FORM CLAMP Filed July 15, 1927 Patented June 19, 1928.

UNITED STATES,

GEORGE F. NEWTON, OF KANSAS CITY,

MISSOURI, AssrGnoR or ONE- ALF T0 SEBASTIAN PATTI, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

FORM CLAMP.

Application filed July 15,

This invention relates to concrete column clamps and forms a continuation in part of my co-pending application for patent, filed October 18, 1926,,Serial No. 1 12, 119, as it has been found desirable to provide means which shall absolutely insure the proper as sembly of the devices, so that the teeth of the bar shall not be on the wrong side of the bar with respect to the key, and so that the key shall not be improperly inserted so that its edge shall not register with the teeth of a cooperating clamp bar.

The prime object of this invention, therefore, is the production of a peculiar keyway, and a key to fit, of such nature that it shall be absolutely impossible to improperly assemble the devices, proper relation ofthe parts being thus insured prior to riveting the clamping member in, fixed relation.

Another object is to provide a structure with means which shall prevent the partial closing of. the bifurcated portion by the accidental'falling of heavy Weights thereon, which leads to interference with the reception of a cooperating clamp bar.

With the general objects named in view, the invention consists in certain novel and useful features of construction and organization of parts as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order thatit may be fully understood, reference is to be had to the ac companying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the key and bars as the will appear during the process of assem 1y.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the bevelled or wedge side of the key.

Figure 3 is a front View of the wedge edge of the key.

Figure & is a plan view of the key-way in one of the bars.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the structure as shown in Figure 4 with a key inserted therein and the parts riveted together.

Figure 6 is a plan View of the bars as they will appear when in use to look a concrete form.

In the said drawing, where like reference characters identify corresponding parts in all of the figures, the clamping mechanism comprises a rectangular bar 1 of any suitable length and formed along one of its side edges with a series of clamping teeth 2.

Riveted or otherwise secured to one end of the bar 1 is a short bar 3, the bar 3 be- 1927. Serial No. 205,971.

ing offset as at 1, although if desired both of the bars may be cit-set as shown in my co-pending application, to provide a slot or bifurcation 5 of sutiicient width to slidingly receive a similar bar as shown in Figure 6. WVith the construction shown in my co-pending application where the ends of bars 1 and 3 are in parallel relation, it was found that in practice heavy weights falling thereon will frequently partially close the bifurcation 5, which prevents the sliding reception of a cooperating bar, or necessitates prying them apart, and in order to prevent such accidental narrowing of the bifurcation, it has been found desirable to provide spacers to limit the distance between the Sends of bars 1 and 3, or to bendthe extremity of one of said bars to meetthe plane of the other bar, the structure as illustrated showing the end 6 of the bar 3, bent downwardly to abutting relationrwith the upper face of the bar 1. If force, tending to close the slot is now applied, such forcewill be resisted at both ends of the slot and it is efliciently resisted.

With the construction shown in my copending application, it is possibleto assemble the devices with the wedge edge of the key turned backward or with one or the other of the bars invertechit being apparent that if the bars are to all cooperate together i as shown in Figure 6, all of the bars must be identical. In actual practice many bars, which had been improperly assembled, were delivered to different jobs which resulted in 9 delay and loss to the concrete contractors as Well as to themanufacturers of the clamping bars. It was, therefore, found necessary to produce some means to absolutely prevent improper assembly of the devices as in order to make the clamping bars a commercial proposition, it is necessary to employ relatively unskilled labor for their assembly, who cannot, or at least do not, exercise suflicient care to insure the proper assembly of every clamping device.

In order to produce a structure which can only be assembledin one way, the bars 1 and 3 adj acenttheir ends are formed with key-wayslots comprising parallel side edge portions 7 and an elliptical portion in which the opposite edges 8 and 9 are struck from different centers; in the drawing, the edge 8 has a greater degree of curvature than the edge 9. The slot described extendsthrough the bars and the elliptical portion is flared downwardly and outwardly as at 10.

The locking key 01 the invention com prises a generally eylinrical body portion ll having atone side a projecting wedge 12 formed with a bevelled front edge for engaging with the teeth 2 of a cooperating bar as shown in Figure (3. The key is formed at its upper end with a head lb and at its lower end terminates in a tlared extremity ll, said end ll corresponding approximately in. contour to the peculiar elliptical holes described, in the bars 1 and 3, and having its major axis at right angles to or crosswise ot the wedge 12. Thus it will be evident that the end ll has 'l'aces s and 9 corresponding approximately in curvature to the sides 8 and 9 respectively of the elliptical openings in each bar. The key can, therefore, be inserted into the hole 7 only when the sides S-8 and $)9 register with each other, due to the difference in curvature of the sides as described. Thus it is only possible to insert the key into the opening as shown in Figure 4 with the wedge 12 pointed toward the side 9.

In order to prevent an operator from inadvertently turning a bar 1 or 3 with the wrong side up, and then inserting and rotating the key, the parts cooperate, as follows :-It will be evident that if one of the bars is inverted, that the and Li could readily be passed through one 01 the holes, provided the sides 8-8 and 9-9 were in register, but if assembled in this way the bar would'not cooperate with the other bars as the teeth 2 ol. bar 1 would be on the wrong side, or the oft-set portion at of the bar 3 would be in improper position. To prevent such method of assembly the holes are tapered as at 10, it being noted that the end 14: must be passed through a hole until the lower end of the wedge 12 approximately comes into contact with the top face of the particular bar, before it is possible to rotate the key to register the wedge 12 within the slot 7. it being noted that when the wedge 12 approxin'iately contacts with the upper surface of the bar that the lower face of the bar occupies substantially the dotted line position a shown in Figure 3, the distance across the end 14: on the dotted line, being greater than the distance between the sides 8 and 9 at the small end of the tapered hole 10. Thus if it is attempted to insert the key from the large end of the tapered hole 10, it will be evident that the lower end of the wedge will eventually approximate the face of the bar. but it will be impossible to turn or rotate the key to register the wedge 12 with the slot 7, due to the fact that the distance across the end 14 on the dotted line a is greater than the distance between sides 8 and 9 at the small end of the tapered hole 10.

In practice, to insure speed and facility of assembly, it has been found desirable toteaeh the operators at single method ol' assembly, for example, the bar 1 is laid on the bench with the teeth to the operators let'tand adjacent the edge of the bench, the operator then grasps the oil-set end of the bar 3 in his lel't hand (the oil-set portion being down), and inserts the end ll of the key through the opening it) with the wedge 12 pointed toward the operator, the only way in which it may be passed through the hole, as above pointed out. 'hen the lower edge or" the edge approximately contacts with the upper face of the bar 3, the key may be rotated and the wedge l2 registers with the slot 7.

The bar 3, "arrying the key, is now turned at right angles to the end of the bar 1 (as shown in Figure l), and the same method of nninipulation is resorted to as above described, the wedge finally being passed through the slot 7 of the bar It. The bar 3 now lies parallel to the bar 1 and the parts are riveted together, when it is impossible for the key to tall from position, as the large diameter of the llared end ll thereof is at right angles to the sides 8 and 9 of the holes in the bars, the head end 13 of the key prevhnting the key from falling from position in the opposite direction.

l rom the above description, it will be evident that while I have described and illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that I reserve the right to make all changes which properly tall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

1 claim:

1. The combination of a pair of rigidly related members spaced apart for a part of their length and provided at one end of the space with similar alined key-hole shaped opei'iings, and a generally c lindrical key extending through said openings and provided with a wedge-shaped bit engaging the narrow or hit parts of said openings, the main portions of the openings being generally elliptical and the minor axis extending crosswise with respect to the bit parts of the openings, and the key beyond the bit portions having a flaring extension of elliptical contour whose major axis is greater than the minor axis of the main portions of the openings and extends crosswise thereof when the wedge-shaped bit is in engagement with the bit portions of the openings.

A. key of generally cylindrical form and provided at its lower end with a flaring extension of generally elliptical form in cross section; the key along its cylindrical portion having a wedge-shaped bit portion standing in a plane crosswise of the major axis of the flaring extension.

3. A key of generally cylindrical form ltltl and provided at its lower end with a flaring extension of generally elliptical form in cross section; the key along its cylindrical portion having a wedge-shaped bit portion standing in a plane crosswise of the major axis of the flaring extension, and also having a head at the wide end of the wedgeshaped bit portion.

4v A bar member having a key-hole shaped opening, a key for cooperation therewith having a wedge-shaped bit portion, the main portion of the opening being elliptical with one side of less curvature than the other and with its major axis extending in the direction in which the wedge-shaped bit portion project-s.

5. A bar member having a key-hole shaped opening, a key for cooperation therewith having a wedge portion,themain portion of the opening being elliptical with one side of less curvature than the other and With its major axis extending in the direction in I which the wedge-shaped bit portion projects, and with the opposite side Walls of the elliptical part of the opening diverging downwardly.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

GEORGE F. NEWTON. 

